


Everlasting Ring

by minyoongurt



Series: Riordanverse Drabbles & Oneshots [12]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Ear injury, F/M, Hurt Nico di Angelo, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Major Character Injury, Nico di Angelo and Will Solace are Cute, Percy is a mess, Small Tower Of Nero Spoiler, This took too long to write, temporary deafness, we STAN
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:00:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27359962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minyoongurt/pseuds/minyoongurt
Summary: After an encounter with a monster Nico is left temporarily deaf due to an ear injury. The recovery is the hardest part of it all.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Kayla Knowles/Original Character(s), Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Series: Riordanverse Drabbles & Oneshots [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1854148
Comments: 5
Kudos: 165





	Everlasting Ring

**Author's Note:**

> Not everything in this may be accurate
> 
> Not proofread
> 
> *Characters belong to Uncle Rick*

“Man, I really don’t think we should be here. I should be at camp enjoying my summer vacation.” 

“Shut up, Jackson, it’s just a simple mission. This isn’t even a quest.” 

Percy sighed, adjusting his bucket hat. He tightened his grip on Riptide, looking around the cave they wandered through. He didn’t quite know where Nico was leading him, all he knew was they were off to get help from some “friends” of Nico’s. There were caverns beneath Camp Half-Blood, Hazel had sensed them during one of her visits a few weeks ago, and for the safety of camp Chiron wanted them to be checked out. 

“They’re here somewhere, I swear, we just have to go farther down.” Nico grumbled, pushing the brim of his white cowboy hat up a bit. He stole a glance at Percy, doing a double take. “Put your sword  _ away _ .” He hissed. “Are you trying to get us eaten?”

“Are you trying to make us look ridiculous?” Percy grumbled, returning Riptide to its pen form and slipped it into his pocket. 

“Hey, don’t trash the hats.” Nico grumbled. “It’s a sign of respect.”

There was a low rumble in the depths of the cave, making the pair stop. Nico held up his torch, squinting to try to get a better look. Percy stood at his side, clutching the pen tightly. 

“Could it be a…?” Percy mumbled, tilting his head to the side. 

That’s when a huge creature emerged from the darkness, lugging along a massive stone club. His huge, disgusting eye stared at the two demigods. 

“Cyclops.” Nico muttered quietly. “Run.”

“Wrong cave! Really wrong cave!” The son of Poseidon screamed.

The pair turned on their heels and began to sprint in the direction they came. The monster was gigantic. Percy was out of his element, there wasn’t a drop of water anywhere around them. Nico, on the other hand, couldn’t defeat the monster on his own using only his powers. He could try, but in the end he would probably collapse from exhaustion before any real progress was made. They should have brought Clarrise with them, or maybe even Leo.

“Percy! I’ll hold it off, get out of here!” Nico yelled, stopping in his tracks. He dropped the torch and instead drew his sword. 

“Nico c’mon we don’t-“

“Go!” He screamed, turning to face the monster as he heard Percy’s footsteps fade off into the distance. 

This was a bad idea. This was a very bad idea. The son of Hades summoned about a dozen undead soldiers, commanding them to attack the monster. For the record, they tried their best in obeying the Ghost King’s orders, but it didn’t work out. 

The cyclops simply shook the zombies off its leg and crushed them with its foot. It grunted, staring down the pesky sixteen-year-old. It began to pound its club against the cave wall, the sound echoing painfully through the cavern. 

Nico winced from how loud the noise was and how it seemed to only be getting louder. He stumbled, dropping his sword in favor of covering his ears with his hands. He began to scream, the loud ringing in his ears and the pain beginning to get unbearable. 

It was  _ torture. _ And the monster seemed to be enjoying it, laughing joyously as the weak little demigod screamed. 

Nico soon realized the cave was beginning to rumble and the stone above his head began to crack. Despite the torturous volume of the pounding and the ringing in his ears, he removed his hands and grabbed his sword. He tripped over his own feet as he fell into the shadows.

——

The ravenette faded in and out of consciousness. 

One moment he blearily opened his eyes to find Percy Jackson hauling him over half-blood hill. 

The second time he managed to open his eyes he got a glimpse of a familiar light green- Will’s scrubs. He barely managed to make that connection before losing consciousness again. 

The third and final time he opened his eyes he was met with Will shouting orders at his siblings and the strong stench of disinfectant. 

Ah, the infirmary. 

Then, it all went dark again, this time for a long time,

——

When Nico woke up, he found it odd that he wasn’t met with the usual sound of the bustling infirmary. Instead, everything was quiet, minus a ringing that didn’t seem to go away. He opened his eyes, slowly looking around. 

Well that’s odd. 

The infirmary was full of life, as it usually was, but Nico couldn’t hear a thing, just a  _ ring. _

He looked to his side, finding Will sitting by his bed. Of course the blonde was there. He didn’t seem to notice Nico had woken up, too focused on trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube (and failing horribly). The more the son of Hades studied his boyfriend, the more he realized how  _ miserable _ Will looked. 

The usually-bubbly son of Apollo was slouched in his seat, wearing Nico’s leather jacket over his camp shirt despite it being close to ninety degrees outside. His cheeks were blotchy and his eyes were rimmed with red, probably- definitely -from crying. 

The blonde looked up slowly, his eyes widening when he saw Nico awake. The Rubik’s Cube tumbled out of his hands and onto the floor. He was out of his chair in a millisecond, carefully cupping Nico’s face and pressing a firm kiss to his lips. 

He began speaking, talking possibly a mile a minute, but Nico couldn’t hear a thing spewing from his mouth. He heard nothing but an annoying ring. The ravenette reached up slowly, smushing his fingers against his boyfriend’s lips. 

Will frowned, cocking his head to the side like a curious puppy. He gently wrapped his hand around Nico’s wrist and kissed his fingertips. 

Nico tried to say “I can’t hear you”, but it came out as more of a slurred grumble. 

Will’s blonde- almost invisible -eyebrows pinched together. “What?” He said, though no sound was heard. He stared at the son of Hades before realization dawned on his face. 

He was quick to pull the ravenette up into a sitting position, practically manhandling the younger. He got to his feet, motioning for Nico to stay put. He pulled off the leather jacket, draping over the chair he had been sitting in previously. 

Nico watched as his boyfriend bustled around frantically. He himself should have been more panicked than he was, but he was too tired to really care. His eyelids began to grow too heavy to hold up. He blinked sleepily, his body beginning to slump.

——

“Shit! No, no don’t fall back to sleep!” Will shouted in a panic, running back to Nico before the younger could fall out of the cot. 

He sighed, allowing his boyfriend to lean against him. He looked around the infirmary for anyone familiar to help him. He would just ask Kayla to help, but he didn’t want Nico to wake up in a panic if someone he barely knew was touching him. 

“Annabeth!” He called to the daughter of Athena, who had been sitting with Percy all day while he rested. “Can you come home Nico up? Please? I need to look in his ears.” 

Annabeth nodded, quickly rushing over to the two boys with Percy in tow. The son of Poseidon sat on the edge of the bed, only there for moral support. He wasn’t nearly as injured as Nico, but he was still sore. Annabeth sat on the edge of the bed, allowing Nico’s fatigued body to slump against her chest. 

Will turned the light of his otoscope on and peered into Nico’s ear, frowning. “I thought I healed him completely when Percy brought him in…” he muttered to himself. 

“That cyclops bitch was loud as fuck…” Percy grumbled, brushing his finger over the owl band-aid Annabeth had put on the back of his hand. 

“Perce, language.” Annabeth said with a small laugh, holding Nico’s dark hair back. 

Will looked closer, a small gasp escaping him. “His eardrum is completely ruptured, I’m sure the other one is too. There’s a big hole right in the middle of it.” He sighed, turning the otoscope off and putting it down. He ripped open an alcohol wipe and began to clean off the crusted blood from around Nico’s ear.

“Poor guy.” Annabeth sighed, gently patting the son of Hades on the back. 

“I might just have to let it heal on its own. I don’t want to risk anything. If it heals incorrectly he could lose his hearing permanently.” Will sighed, gently wrapping his arms around Nico and pulling the boy to his chest instead. He cleaned the ravenette’s other ear. 

“I’m gonna-“ Percy made a series of violent looking hand gestures. “-that stupid cyclops that hurt my heart cousin.” 

Annabeth snorted, placing her hand on his wrist. “Calm down, seaweed brain. He’ll be fine no matter what.” She said softly, taking Percy’s hand and kissing his knuckles. 

Will carefully laid Nico back down, pulling the blankets up to his chin. He brushed his thumb over his boyfriend’s soft cheek, over his faint freckles and the beauty mark by his eye. His heart skipped a beat when the smallest, most innocent smile curled on Nico’s lips. The blonde leaned down and kissed his forehead. 

“You’ll be okay.” He whispered. “I love you, I hope you know that, I will always love you.” Will straightened up, brushing Nico’s hair back before he stood up. 

He gathered his tools and went to put them away, as well as wash his hands. He sighed quietly, possibly scrubbing a bit too harshly. Will scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed at his hands, his gaze burning holes into the wall in front of him. It was his fault. Nico wouldn’t be deaf- whether it be permanent or not -if he would have healed him correctly. He should have done better. He should be better. 

“Will?”

The doctor flinched, quickly turning off the water and drying his hands. His skin was red from irritation. He turned to Annabeth, raising his brows. 

“Yes?” He asked, his shoulders tense as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts. 

“You need to relax, honey. How about we go to the Athena cabin and have some hot chocolate? Sure,

It’s super hot outside, but you can’t go wrong with hot chocolate.” She said, placing her hands on his shoulders and giving them a small squeeze.

“I can’t leave Nico, my conscience won't allow it.” Will sighed with a humorless chuckle.

“Will,” the daughter of Athena began, looking him in the eye. “Come back to the Athena cabin with Percy and I, have some hot chocolate, and relax. You and I both know Nico, he’ll probably be out for another twelve hours.” 

The son of Apollo sighed, nodding slowly. “You’re right.” He shuffled over to Nico’s cot, leaning down to press his lips to his boyfriend’s cheek once more. “Will you show me pictures of Estelle, Perce?” He asked, making sure his partner was all tucked in. 

“Of course!” Percy exclaimed, only to clamp his hands over his mouth when he realized his volume. “Mom sends me pictures of her almost every day. Thank gods for the Hephaestus cabin and their anti-monster technology, am I right?” 

Will snorted, nodding. “Teaching Nico how to use technology has definitely been a rollercoaster.” He said, taking one final look at his boyfriend before making his way to the infirmary doors. 

“Oh my gods, I can only imagine how much of a culture shock that was.” Annabeth said, taking Percy’s hand and following Will. 

“It’s a nightmare!” Will laughed, his mood already improving. “I asked him if he had seen Star Wars and he said no. Who hasn’t seen Star Wars?!”

“That is a crime!” Percy said with the stomp of his foot. “Star Wars is the best franchise out there!”

Annabeth sighed, shaking her head. She didn’t have the heart to remind either boy that Nico, in fact, hadn’t even been born in their decade, let alone had the time or resources to watch Star Wars.

——

The next time Nico woke up, he was in the Hades cabin. 

He stretched, his face scrunching up slightly as he did so. He looked around slowly, taking in his surroundings. His eyes landed on a mop of blonde curls sticking out of the blankets beside him. 

Oh, Will. 

Nico’s eyes flicked over to the alarm clock. It was rare that he woke up before Will. The blonde always rose with the sun, it was odd to see him still asleep. 

Ah, well it was 1:56 in the morning. 

The son of Hades rolled over, inching closer to his boyfriend. Will had basically taken permanent residence in Cabin Thirteen. He was there both to look after the ravenette’s health and, come to find out, both of them had developed quite a bit of separation anxiety. They had been through two wars and dealt with Apollo’s bullshit, it took a toll on them both. 

Will was all Nico had. Hazel was off living in New Rome with Frank, as were Percy and Annabeth, and Jason was...well, he didn’t like to think about Jason. He knew Will didn’t have many people to lean on. His mother lived almost halfway across the country, he had Cecil and Lou Ellen but he could only deal with their chaotic vibes for so long. Nico was his world, his soulmate. 

The ravenette brushed his hand through his boyfriend’s unruly curls, smiling sleepily. He carefully touched the light blue glass plugs that adorned Will’s earlobes. When the sun child’s eyes fluttered open, Nico grinned, showing off his crooked teeth. He pressed his lips to the space between Will’s eyebrows. He watched as Will’s lips moved, but he heard nothing but ringing. 

Nico sighed softly, pressing his face to the crook of his boyfriend’s neck. He closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of Will’s peach-scented body wash. He felt the blonde kiss his temple, mouthing “I love you” against his skin and holding him tighter. 

The son of Hades fell back to sleep, safely wrapped up in his lover’s arms. 

——

“How’s your hearing?” Will asked one morning, about a week after the incident. 

Nico stared at him, dark eyes analyzing every bit of his face. “You’re still muffled…” he grumbled, looking back down at his lunch- a PB&J as well as some potato salad and baby carrots.

The ravenette wasn’t half bad at reading lips, it got easier as his hearing returned. Although being completely deaf was a nightmare, he carried a notepad around everywhere when he absolutely  _ had _ to speak to someone. Will had taught him a few things in sign language, the blonde having taken a course on it online a year or so prior. Nico could spell his first name, his last name was much too hard for his sleep deprived brain to remember, he could tell Will he loved him, he could say “Thank you”, “Go away”, and “Fuck you”. Will was reluctant to teach him the last one, but he eventually caved. 

He still didn’t like speaking, given he could barely hear himself and didn’t want to accidentally speak too loudly. He said some things, just for the sake of his boyfriend. 

Nico stabbed at his potato salad, a grumpy pout on his lips. He didn’t have much of an appetite, thought he never really did. He felt Will caress his cheek gently and tuck his hair behind his ear. He looked to his boyfriend. 

“Eat.” Will said, holding a yellow sticky note with the word written on it as well. 

Nico narrowed his eyes, looking back down at his food. He continued to stab at his potato salad and nudge his baby carrots. The sticky note was placed beside his plate, the note now said “Eat, Please” accompanied by a small sun and a heart. He sighed quietly, taking a small bite of his potato salad. 

He made it through about half the potato salad, a handful of baby carrots, and two bites of his sandwich, when another sticky note was placed within his field of vision. This time the note was green.

“Good job, dude!” It read, followed by a smiley face. 

Nico looked up, finding Kayla grinning at him. She gave him a thumbs up. He gave her a small smile in return. He quite enjoyed sitting with Will and his siblings, they were all beyond kind to him. He had gotten quite close with Kayla and Austin over the past few days, since he was excused of all his camp activities and spent almost all his time in the infirmary. No one in Cabin Seven seemed scared of him, they accepted him for who he was. They made him feel more comfortable about being gay, seeing as Will was openly bisexual, Kayla was singlehandedly the most homosexual girl he knew, and Austin had just recently come out as aroace.

The son of Hades put his fork down and slumped against his boyfriend. He pressed his cheek to Will’s bicep, beginning to count the freckles on the blonde’s arm one by one. A little smile pulled on his lips as Will kissed the top of his head. He could just barely hear the son of Apollo’s muffled voice as he talked with his siblings. 

“He’s falling asleep.” Austin said, chuckling fondly.

“Hm?” Will tilted his head to the side. 

Austin nodded towards Nico before going back to fiddling with the keys on his saxophone.

The counselor looked down at his boyfriend, his heart melting almost immediately. He pressed his lips to Nico’s head again, smiling fondly. The ravenette was using his bicep as a pillow, one hand loosely wrapped around his forearm. 

“I feel bad, he’s been struggling a lot after the ear injury.” Will sighed, placing his hand over the olive one on his opposite forearm. “He hasn’t been sleeping much. The first night or two were fine, but then his ears started draining, therefore it was more painful to lay down since his ears couldn’t drain properly.” He rambled. “That means I haven’t gotten much sleep ‘cause he tends to get a little self destructive at night when he’s alone. I’ve been healing his ears bit by bit, but it’s been hard since I don’t want to fuck his ears up permanently on accident.” He sighed, shaking his head. “All I can really do is sit with him all night and hold him…”

“Will,” Kayla reached across the table to poke her brother’s hand. “It’ll be fine. You’re doing great. He’s getting better, we both know that. Everything will be okay.” She said sincerely. 

“Yeah, man, don’t get too worked up over this. Everything will be okay and if shit really hits the fan maybe we can call Dad to help out.” Austin said while shooting Will a confident smirk.

Will snorted quietly, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “I guess you’re right.” He nodded. “I just want Nico to be okay. I don’t think I can live off of energy drinks much longer.”

“How many energy drinks have you consumed today?” Austin asked, tilting his head slightly. 

“...6.”

“Will!” Both Kayla and Austin exclaimed in surprise.

——

“The ringing won’t stop…” 

Will sighed quietly. “I know, darling, I can’t do much about that.” He said from where he was looking in his boyfriend’s ears. 

The ruptures in his eardrums were newly healed. Nico’s hearing was back to normal for the most part, minus the constant ringing. 

“I don’t like it, it’s annoying.” Nico grumbled, swatting Will’s hands away from him. “I’m fine, Will. If you can’t stop the ringing then stop messing around with my body!” He snapped, raising his voice slightly. 

The blonde sighed, sitting on the edge of the cot. He took his boyfriend’s hand, brushing his thumb over the younger’s knuckles. “Nico,” he said gently. “I’m trying to make sure everything is alright, you know that. Please don’t push me away and shut me out.” He said softly, giving Nico a small smile. 

The son of Hades refused to meet his boyfriend’s eyes. He stared at his lap, twisting his skull ring around his finger. He sniffled quietly, the guilt settling in. He was exhausted and he knew Will was too. He could see the dark circles under the blonde’s eyes, and he knew he himself had ones to match. He didn’t mean to snap at Will, he was just tired and irritable. He didn’t even notice the hot tears falling onto his lap. 

“Oh, Sweetheart…” Will breathed out, wrapping the younger in his arms and holding him tightly. “Baby, why’re you crying? Why the tears, my darling?” He asked in a gentle voice, brushing Nico’s tears away with his thumbs. 

“I’m tired a-and I yelled at you…” The ravenette cried quietly, leaning his face into Will’s hands. “Don’t leave me…please…” He begged, wrapping his hands around Will’s wrists and holding tightly to them. 

“Nico, honey.” The son of Apollo whispered, leaning their foreheads together. He brushed his thumbs against his lover’s cheeks. “I’m not leaving you, I never will. I’m not mad, Sunshine, I’m not.” He placed a kiss on the tip of Nico’s nose. “I know you’re tired, Sweetheart, that’s why I’m prescribing you three days of bed rest with your favorite blonde doctor.” He said with a wink, pulling away slowly. 

Nico tried to stifle a giggle, but ultimately failed. He smiled, just barely showing his teeth, but Will was still able to see the little gap between his two front teeth. He wiped his face with his hands and sniffled. 

“I guess that’s not so bad.” He pushed his dark hair back. “I think I’m going to sleep for thirty-six hours straight.”

“That’s fine, just allow me to wake you up to eat.” Will cupped Nico’s cheeks, leaning closer to connect their lips. 

Nico allowed his hands to rest on Will’s waist as their lips moved together in sync. It was a sharp “ehem!” that popped their little bubble. 

“Please get a room guys, there’s kids around.” Kayla said, exasperated.

Will pulled away, shooting a glare at his half-sister. “You say that like I haven’t caught you and Evanora from the Hecate Cabin making out in the supply closet, let me think...four times?!” He shot back playfully. 

“Sick burn, William!” One of Will’s other half-sibling’s called from the opposite side of the infirmary. Their name was Harper if Nico recalled correctly. 

“Shut up and go somewhere else with Sir Darkness!” Kayla flipped her brother off, her cheeks a vibrant red that stood in contrast to her green-tipped hair. 

Nico snickered, scooting off the cot. He grabbed Will’s hand, tugging weakly. “Nap time, Will, I’m exhausted.” He said, accompanied by a yawn. “Tomorrow we can go into the city for pizza, maybe see one of those musicals you’re always telling me about?” He suggested. 

A grin spread across Will’s face, his dimples indenting his cheeks. “I like the way you think, di Angelo.” He said as he stood up.

And with that, they rushed off to the Hades cabin. Sure, Nico stumbled over his own feet a few times, but that didn’t erase the happy smile from his features. 

The slam of the Cabin Thirteen door commenced the beginning of their sixteen hour nap.

**Author's Note:**

> Requests are always accepted!!
> 
> Twt: @slowtownrants  
> IG: @mochiduckling  
> Tumblr: @blueblackslowtown


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